The journey to Ferrum, Va. may have been a long haul on Friday, but for former Andalusia standout linebacker Montel Lee, it wasn’t so bad because he’ll be strapping it up for the Panthers this fall at Ferrum College.

Getting the opportunity to play football right away was the most appealing factor that led to his decision to attend FC, Lee said.

“That was important,” he said. “I just basically wanted to play and this was the school that was going to let me play football at.”

Lee committed to play at the private Methodist college back in May of this year, and will be playing on what he called a “ward letter” scholarship.

Late last month, Lee competed in the North-South All-Star Football Game in Montgomery and recorded 12 tackles while also picking up MVP honors.

Another thing that appealed to Lee was the fact that Ferrum offered the area of study he’s most interested in — forestry.

“They had the major that I wanted and the two majors I’m still deciding on — forestry and social work,” he said. “They have a good forestry program up here in Virginia.”

The Panthers play in the USA South Athletic Conference and are a Division III team. The first game on the schedule is slated for Sept. 6 at home against Emory & Henry College.

Lee said he’s also looking forward to getting to know his new teammates, much like he did at AHS.

“They went 2-8 last year,” he said about the Panthers. “I just really want to compete for a conference title right now.”

Lee said he plans on using what he learned from his playing days at AHS on the field at Ferrum.

“No matter what level you go at, if you can play ball, you should be able to play and should have no pressure on you,” he said. “You should go out and have fun.”

Lee is the son of Laura Lee and Willie Lee of Andalusia.